Eat healthy to eat less - Eat Right

Shape, Sept, 2002 by Mary Ellen Strote

Nearly a decade ago, a crew of men and women sustained themselves for two years in Biosphere 2, a 3.1 acre, glass-enclosed, self contained research laboratory outside Tucson, Ariz. They primarily ate 1,750-2,100 calories a day, which, given the enormous physical energy required to run Biosphere, was lower in calories than is normally prescribed for healthy eating. "The diet was somewhat like the fish-, fruit-, vegetable- and soybean-based Okinawa Program, the lowfat American Heart Association diet and the Mediterranean diet," says crew member Roy L. Walford M.D., a professor of pathology at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine. "But it was more nutrient-dense than. any of these and provided all the essential nutrients in at least RDA amounts." About 12 percent of calories came from protein,' 11 percent 'from fat and 77 percent from complex carbohydrates.

The Biosphere diet conferred the same benefits seen in calorie-restricted lab animals, including lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol and decreased insulin production. The crew a so lost weight: The men lowered their body mass index by an average of 19 percent; the women, 13 percent. What's more, Walford says, "They remained in excellent health and sustained a high level of physical and mental activity the entire two years."